Face Your Fears
by Captain-Cheesecake
Summary: The Doctor has fought in wars. Saved millions of planets. Billions of lives. He has looked into the face of death and walked away. He is not afraid of anything. But how will he handle asking Rose Tyler's father for her hand in marriage?


**Something I wrote about The Doctor and the most dangerous task he has ever had to endure: Staying in the same room with Jackie Tyler.  
**

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who is owned by the BBC, not me.  
**

**Please review.  
**

* * *

I can do this.  
The Doctor's stomach churned as he walked to the grand house, his face covered in a sheer sheet of sweat, his palms clammy and shaking. In fact, his whole body shivered in fear and anxiety.  
This was definitely the hardest thing he had ever done.  
Don't worry. You can do this, he assured himself. You are strong enough for this. You've saved planets with only a kettle and some string. You've rescued civilizations with nothing but a cricket ball. You've stopped cold war with a toy mouse. Surely you can do this.  
He took a deep breath, summoned every ounce of courage left in his body, and rang the doorbell.  
The knob turned and the door swung open.

"Well, well! 'ello Doctah! How've you been, eh?" the excited (and somehow, also annoyed) voice of Jackie Tyler asked.

"Er...Hi Jackie."

Jackie.  
Not at all the person he was hoping for.  
He gulped.  
I can't do this.

"Well, c'mon then! Don't just stand there! Come inside!" she put her arms around him in what was supposed to be a comforting embrace, but it didn't comfort him at all. Actually, it did the exact opposite.  
Nope. I definitely cannot do this.

She pulled him in the house and took his tan jacket.

"How are ya, doll? Oh, don't tell me, I'm sure you've been fine. Would y'like a cuppa tea?"

He nodded, trying to steady his breathing. The last thing he needed was for _her_ to notice his anxious state.  
"Um...yeah. Tea'd be nice. Like a good ol' cuppa warm tea!"

Jackie looked at him, eyebrow raised.  
Great. She suspected something.

"So how's things, eh? All good, I hope?" she asked.  
Gosh, she could yell.  
Even though she was all the way in the kitchen, he felt as though she were shouting in his ear.

"Oh, yeah. It's been great. Busy. Rather tiring. But brilliant." he answered. He wished she would quit asking questions. His voice would give him away.

She came back into the room with two spots of tea on a tray.

"Been up tah anythin' lately? Savin' the universe?"

Oh, gosh. She knew, didn't she? Or was he just paranoid?_ Since when was he this paranoid?  
_He grabbed his cup and held it with both hands as to hide his shaking hands which rattled the china.

"Uh, yeah. Always that. What else would I do? As long as there's a universe it will always need saving."

He could swear her eyes were following him everywhere. Staring at his twitching eye. Glaring at the sweat on his forehead. Watching his lips tremble. It's like she could hear his chest pounding.  
Why do mothers always pick up on these things?

She tied the ends of her dressing gown together.  
"Well, that's good. Not meaning to be rude, but I don't want you tah be stuck here with no need. Rose isn't visiting today. Tah tell you the truth, I thought she was out with YOU."

The Doctor shook his head.

"No. She had something she wanted to do today."

That was a lie. He had let her stay home, allowing her to sleep in until 2:00 in the afternoon. Not like she didn't do that already anyway.

"Besides, I'm not here for Rose. I'm here for Pete." he admitted.

Jackie's eyes widened and she raised her eyebrow higher.  
No, no, please no. Don't let her suspect anything. Please. Just not Jackie. _Anyone_ but Jackie.

"Did I hear my name?"

Peter Allen Tyler walked down the grand steps unto the lounge to join his wife's side and planted a soft kiss on her lips.  
The Doctor looked away. He felt he shouldn't be there. Why do I even go to this house? He asked himself. Jackie lives here.

Jackie pulled on her husband's tie.  
"The Doctah said he wanted tah see you."

Pete raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could have a word with him..." The Doctor blushed.

Jackie stared at him skeptically.

"...Alone. If you don't mind."

Pete cleared his throat.  
Jackie put her hands in the pockets of her dressing gown.

"Oh, of course I don't mind! It's just _my_ house. And _my_ husband. I never get to see him before work anymore-"  
Her voice faded as she begrudgingly walked out of the room. That was sure not to last too long, though.

Pete gestured to the sofa.  
"Please sit down. I can't tolerate standing still for too long. I'm too old for that." he laughed.

The Doctor chuckled nervously.  
"I know what you mean."

He stared at the door, where Jackie's head could still be seen in the doorway.

"Jackie! Please!" Pete bellowed.

Jackie rolled her eyes and shut the door.

Pete smiled.  
"So sorry about her. She doesn't really understand privacy."

The Doctor shrugged.  
"Yeah, I'm kinda used to it." he sipped his tea.

Pete cleared his throat.  
"Ahem...so I am guessing this is an important matter."

The Doctor gulped.  
"Um, actually yes. A _very_ important matter."

Pete nodded and crossed his arms.

"Y'hear that Jackie? This is important! So I would suggest you quit sticking your ear to the door and go check on Tony."

Footsteps walked away from the door as Jackie gave up her eavesdropping.

The Doctor laughed.  
"Thanks. I really appreciate that."

Pete shrugged as he reached for his wife's tea.  
"Oh don't thank me yet. She's bound to come back. Can't resist a privet conversation, that one. She's a keeper."

The Doctor smiled and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his shaking hands.  
"Oh, definitely."

Pete put his cup down and crossed his arms.  
"So, I can only guess this important matter is about Rose."

The Doctor sat up. This is the moment he had been waiting for.  
Don't worry. You can do this.

"Um, as a matter of fact, yes. It is about Rose." he stuttered.

Pete leaned forward.  
"Alright. What about her?"

The Doctor gulped.  
"Well, that's the thing...it's about me, too." he admitted in a shaking voice.

You can do this...  
You can do this...?  
You can't do this.  
You can't do this!

Pete laughed at the expression on the Doctor's face.

"What? What's funny?" the Doctor asked, afraid he missed a joke in his nervous state.

"Whatever this situation is, it sure has got you scared out of your wits! I've never seen anyone like this!" Pete exclaimed.

The Doctor cleared his throat.  
"Yeah, well...I…um..." he didn't know how to start.

Pete nodded, waiting for him to say more.

"I had a something to say..." he mumbled.

Pete nodded.  
"Go on."

"Well, um...Sir-"

Pete shook his head.  
"Just Pete. Not sir. Sir makes me feel...old. Like my dad."

The Doctor nodded and continued.  
"Peter Allen Tyler, I want you to know that I love your daughter more than the universe, and would do anything for her. Be anything for her. I will protect her, even if it takes my own life. She is my world. My everything. I have waited over 900 years for her..."

Tears filled Pete's eyes.

"...I will go anywhere for her. I will give her anything she wanted. I will make her the happiest human being on earth-No. On every planet. I will love her until the end of the universe. Until the end of time itself.  
I am asking your approval for her hand in marriage. And if you give me your blessing, I would be the happiest man to have ever lived."

Pete remained speechless.  
The Doctor's stomach churned so violently he felt he was going to be sick.  
And though the wait was only a few seconds, those moments seemed to last hours. Years even. Almost as if time had stopped.

Pete wiped the tears from his eyes.  
"I knew it..." he mumbled.

The Doctor pulled a shaky hand through his unkempt brown hair.  
'I knew it?'  
That was never a good sign.

Pete chuckled.  
"...I knew you really loved her."

Ok, then it WAS a good thing.  
But the silence was deafening. It has seemed Time itself had frozen. Every ticking second was a lifetime in the Doctor's eyes as he tried to steady his breathing.  
But then that moment ended.

"Yes."

The Doctor's eyes widened.  
"Yes?"

Pete grabbed the Doctors hand.

"She has been yours far longer than she has been mine." he smiled, almost sadly,  
"You are the man who has given his life for my daughter, and you are the one I believe will give her anything she ever needed or wanted. You are the only thing in this universe to ever make her happy. I would be proud to have you as a son-in-law. How could I say no?"

The Doctor's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes?" he asked again, just to be sure.

Pete nodded.  
"Yes."

The Doctor smiled, his stomach, aching from anxiety, was now full of butterflies.  
It was a yes.  
He had done it. He had done it!  
I cannot believe I did it...

"Um...Thank you! I cannot say how much this means to me! Thank you!"

Pete laughed.  
"And tell you what, given the state you were in just asking ME, I will let you off the hook and tell Jackie myself."

The Doctor was absolutely speechless. Could this day get _any_ better?

"Um...oh gosh, thank you! I'm not able to deal with that. She would kill me."

Pete nodded.  
"Yeah. You'd be dead. Trust me."

The Doctors eyes widened.  
"Well, thanks Pete. I needed to hear that after a near mental breakdown." he said sarcastically.

Pete laughed.  
"You're welcome! Um...do I get to see the ring?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow.  
"Hmmm? Oh, yes! Hold on-"

He pulled a little blue box out of his pocket.

"-There she is!"

Pete examined the box for a moment.

"I'm guessing the color is symbolic?" he asked.

"Oh, yes! The TARDIS is–well, WAS–a little blue police box. Landed in the 1950's. Broken chameleon circuit. She'd been like that for almost 900 years.  
The ring itself is a pink diamond star from the galaxy named 'Melys rhosyn'."

Pete picked up the small golden ring and brushed his fingers over the circular pink diamond.

"It's perfect." He smiled.

Jackie entered the room with little Tony in her arms.

"What's so' perfect'? You better be talkin' about me, Peter Allen Tyler."

Pete closed the box and handed it to the Doctor behind his back.

"Of course Jackie! What else? Except little Tony here! He's perfect too!" he picked the boy up from his mother's arms and kissed his blond hair.

The Doctor sighed.  
"Well, I need to get going. Thank you Pete. So much."

Pete winked.  
"Thank you, Doctor. I'm rooting for you."

The Doctor smiled.  
"I think I have the easy job. Good luck."

Pete waved with Tony's hand.  
"Bye-bye, Doctor!"

Jackie raised an eyebrow as The Doctor left the room, almost running out of the house.

He closed the door behind him and caught his breath, only to run again after hearing Jackie's booming scream.

"YOU SAID YES?"

He ran as fast as he could. Faster than he ever ran before.  
He laughed.

"I can't believe I did this."


End file.
